Heavy security cover has been thrown around for the players of Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the ‘home team’ as far as Tamils are considered, in the on-going IPL, 2018 tournament on the eve of CSK’s first ‘home-game’ tomorrow against Kolkata.

The match is to commence at 08:00 p.m. tomorrow (10th April) even as there remains some ‘uneasiness’ in the minds of cricket-crazy Tamils and Chennaiites as they haven’t yet decided whether to separate sports from politics. They would either turn up full-house or might boycott the match in response to a few political parties’ call to do so in view of the on-going Cauvery water spell of protests across the State.

However, Chennaiites’ fondness for cricket and their support to CSK is legendary and it is almost an improbable thing that they would stay away from Chepauk’s historic M.A. Chidambaram Stadium tomorrow to watch CSK’s first match in three years after it missed the 2016, 2017 editions of IPL for a variety of reasons.

Request to postpone/cancel CSK’s matches in Chennai have been made mainly because it is feared by many that cricket might take the focus (of Chennaiites in particular and Tamils in general) from the on-going Cauvery protests. CSK players have been put up at a hotel in Alwarpet where heavy security has been provided to them. It is hoped that cricket may not be disturbed by the Cauvery protests.

In the meantime, Tamil superstar Rajinikanth has appealed to CSK’s team management to ask its players to sport black bands on their arms in support of the on-going Cauvery protests.